A friend of the blog emails:
I thought the whole stupid idea to make I94 a boulevard was a dead idea. No one really wants it. If the activists get it, it won’t be what they want. Neighborhoods were destroyed when I94 was built, but tearing it out now for some fluffy grade level street, probably close to what Snelling looks like now would really destroy what’s left of the neighborhood (after it rebuilt from I94 and was subsequently destroyed by the light rail).
But, it seems there are enough activists who do not care about the neighbors that they serve, who are only looking to move up by talking the points without even understanding the points that MNDOT appears to be actually considering the stupid idea.
I wonder if anyone who votes for these crappy ideas actually commutes to work, or if they work from home? Do they think their barista at the coffee shop they walk to should work from home? Maybe the barista could be at home collecting unemployment while the robot serves lattes. Do they think the health care staff that care for their aging parents should also work from home? Maybe all the service industry workers, doctors included, should just be shocked up in work force housing next to their employer. That way, they won’t have to see any of those workers driving to work. The streets will be clean for their errands.
Is there no end to how little those with privilege want to interact with us?
Signaling one’s virtue is a social activity – but only with the right society…
I’ve asked one of the planners to discuss this on the radio with me – a resident of the neighborhood they keep trying to destroyo. I’ve heard nothing back. I’m not going to hold my breath.
Actually, it is much simpler – follow the money. Who stands to benefit? Developers and construction companies. How many have libturd benefactors?
University Avenue already connects the downtowns. Why do we need an expressway? To move traffic swiftly and efficiently? Bosh! That’s a terrible idea. If we make it easy for people to drive from one city to another, they Will drive from one city to another, which produces greenhouse gasses that kill the planet.
Fill the ditch. Close I-94 completely. Let people take University Avenue for the main connection, various side streets on either end. And restore Rondo as an entirely new neighborhood of low income housing for immigrants on the lam from Chicago to fill.
And to keep it not only pristine but climate friendly, require all retail deliveries to be made by bicycle. Target at Hamline and University should leap at the chance for that. Think of the job opportunities for neighborhood yutes.
Stop thinking that urban transportation is about efficiently moving goods and people. Start realizing it’s about signaling virtue. That’ll make everything so much easier to understand.
They should fill the freeway in, and make it a free range preserve for the tent people.
Everything is legal within the boundary. Let nature take it’s course
Pingback: In The Mailbox: 07.21.23 (Evening Edition) : The Other McCain
Message from local politician celebrating success in lower arrest rates for privileged offenders.
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In September 2021, County Attorney Choi and police chiefs from Maplewood, Roseville, St. Anthony Village and Saint Paul announced they would reduce non-public-safety traffic stops – stops for vehicle registration, license plate illumination, windshield prohibitions, and headlights, signal lights or rear lamp violations – unless both headlights or rear brake lights are nonfunctioning. Black drivers in Ramsey County were four times more likely to be stopped, and nine times more likely to be searched, than white drivers for these minor violations.
The goals of the changes were to not only reduce racial inequities and improve community trust, but also to focus limited police resources on situations that are most likely to present a public safety threat.
Recently, independent research results affirmed progress toward these goals. Justice Innovation Lab, an independent research organization, worked with the Emergency Communications Center and the Saint Paul Police Department to analyze traffic stop and other data. Their analysis found that:
Non-public-safety traffic stops and searches declined significantly for participating police departments. Stops went down by 86% and searches by 92%.Non-public-safety traffic stops by participating departments decreased from 25% to 5% of all traffic stops.Black drivers in Ramsey County experienced the largest decrease in non-public-safety traffic stops per capita, down 66% the year after the change.The changes had no discernible effect on crime rates.
The change does not leave vehicle owners unaware of the identified problem. An alternative system developed with the Emergency Communications Center is now in place for all officers in Ramsey County to quickly generate a report on their squad computer that can then be used to generate a letter to the vehicle’s owner, notifying them of the date and nature of the violation.
If the vehicle owner needs assistance in paying for the taillight, for example, a note is included in each communication about the availability of assistance through the Lights On! repair coupon program, or through Diversion Solutions for vehicle registration renewal assistance. The financial assistance is provided through a partnership with the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, which also provided funding for the research. Since May 2022, Saint Paul and Roseville have issued a combined 2,000 letters and provided over 60 Lights On! coupons. Several other police departments in Ramsey County plan to join the program.
I can’t improve on the words of Maplewood Police Chief Brian Bierdeman when he explained why this is such an important change, “When members of the public believe their law enforcement organizations represent them, understand them and respond to them, and when communities perceive authorities as fair, legitimate and accountable, it deepens trust in law enforcement. This trust is essential to defusing tension, solving crimes and creating a system in which residents view law enforcement as both fair and just.” I would just add that this kind of community trust in government is what we should all be striving for.
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An acquaintence responds:
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When I was in law enforcement, I advised the officers to stop all violators but write all misdemeanors. I don’t want a bunch of petty misdemeanor chickenshit tickets. That just pisses off the locals.
if you stop all violators, You get to ask for a license and proof of insurance, you get to smell for alcohol or weed. You get to run the name and the plates for a stolen car or outstanding warrant. If all those things are clean and the driving contact was not dangerous then give him a warning and send him on his way with an explanation why you stopped him and an admonition to get the equipment violation fixed, or just to slow down and be safe. People appreciate giving a break once in a while and honest people will get their equipment fixed
I suspect the real reason the city told the cops to stop pulling over violators was the smell of weed was too much to ignore and that led to searches which led to arrests for drugs and guns and suddenly we have a racial disparity in arrests.
Crime didn’t go down, we just refuse to admit it exists by turning a blind eye to the probable cause which would lead us to find evidence of the crime.
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Who do you think is right?
^ Is there an end point or a goal to be reached after which black people are treated like responsible adults?
jdm, if they do, they will lose any control, real or perceived, of thugs that represent bulk of their brownshirt army.
The changes had no discernible effect on crime rates.
Would love to see actual stats and make my own determination what is discernible or not. Did overdoses go up or down? Did vehicle accident rate go up or down? Did shootings go up or down? Did robbery, assault and battery go up or down? I am not even asking about murders because that is not a crime anymore.
A lot of big city governments — not just Minneapolis city government — are easier to understand if you think of them as rackets to distribute tax dollars to favored groups of political activists and voters. That’s why parks are built that no one uses, expensive trains replace cheap buses, etc.
MMP, we used to live across the street from Cherokee Park, in St. Paul, on the Mississippi.
Its a beautiful park, and huge. Its really just a bug swath of Oak trees…the kids and I used to have paintballl battles there.
We could do that because it was always empty. We used to have huge bonfires out there, too.
The good thing is, the city really never spent any money there.
Instead, they spend 1/2 a mil to build parks in N Mpls to give the residents a place to buy and sell drugs, and shoot each other.
I’m tired of the Rondo mythology used as a sledgehammer. Freeways do disrupt neighborhoods, that’s not a question. From 1983-93 I lived in Richfield on Dupont Ave, probably a quarter mile from 35W. The freeway had gone through in the mid-60s, leaving behind a really pleasant neighborhood. Retail on Lyndale, a pedestrian bridge on 73rd. The freeway hum from traffic was a mild nuisance. What’s the difference? No activists playing the race card to advance an agenda.